Brewer of Hearts and Curses
by silveredwolf
Summary: James and Sirius took everything away from Snape, and now Snape is out to reclaim what is his. To do this, he invents a variant of Amortentia, and brews three vials of it: one for James, one for Sirius, and one for Lily. MWPP. Note: lots of ships (this is drama, after all), but RL/SB, JP/LE are undoubtedly endgame.
1. Prologue: Scavenge and Brew

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter.

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_Prologue_

**Scavenge ****and ****Brew**

• • • •

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Severus screamed as vines sprouted from every pore of his legs, crawling and twisting under his robes.

"Oh, that's no fun if we can't see things!" James hollered, and with a second flick of his wand, the fabric covering Severus' legs flew up. The vicinity erupted in laughter, the sound surging against Severus like a tsunami; Severus' face burned profusely, and his heart sank into a cold and empty pit.

"Sev!"

It was Remus, and Severus' heart suddenly beat rapidly. There was hope, he had a savior….

Sirius whistled mockingly. "Oh, look who's here to save Snivellus!"

James spun around with a malicious grin, and Severus' robes fell back over his legs. "Oh hello, Loony," James sneered, his wand hanging loosely from his fingers. It was pointed at Remus almost lazily. "Have you come to get hexed too?"

Remus whipped out his own wand and directed it at James; as he did so, the crowd drew a united intake of breath. "Undo the spell," Remus seethed, his eyes flashing dangerously.

Severus had never seen Remus so furious, and apparently neither did James, for his wand hand faltered visibly. Remus was a true Gryffindor, Severus thought miserably. If there was one thing Severus resented more than James and Sirius, it was his lack of valiance; if he _was_ brave, he could have been sorted into Gryffindor, and he could spend every moment of his life with Remus and Lily. But no, he had to get sorted into Slytherin.

Sirius, bored by the altercation between Remus and James, twirled his wand at Severus' legs, and the vines moved quicker than ever; Severus screamed pathetically as they tangled themselves in his boxers, dragging it down as they whipped back at his feet. Sirius brandished his wand again, levitating Severus' robes just as James did, and the bystanders roared with laughter again. Severus' robes uncovered more and more of his legs as his boxers moved further down, pooling around his feet….

"STOP IT!" Remus yelled, shooting a hex at Sirius. Boils immediately burst from Sirius' skin, and he howled in pain. His Levitation Charm was broken, and Severus felt the fabric hit his legs again.

"How dare you!" James boomed, flinging a shot of light toward Remus. Remus ducked, and it struck against the tree with a bang. James aimed his wand at Remus again, but this time a female voice shouted, "_Expelliarmus_!"

James' wand flew out of his hand, landing in front of Lily's feet. James, empty-handed, now had two wands trained on him; beside him, Sirius still fretted over his boils, evidently out of commission. James gave Lily a cheeky grin, as if he could seduce his way out of his predicament, and was blasted backward by Remus.

"Okay!" James growled as he got up. "I'll leave!"

"Undo the hex first, Potter," Lily snarled. "Or we'll have McGonagall deal with you."

James rolled his eyes. "I'll need my wand back."

Lily glared at him and summoned his wand from the grass. She threw it toward him, and he caught it expertly. He swished it around, and the vines—now groping uncomfortably around Severus' cock—instantly receded.

James grabbed Sirius' arm and together they fled the scene. Severus' audience had also begun to disperse, and eventually Lily and Remus were the only ones left remaining with him. Severus pulled his boxers back up, and together the three of them strolled back to the castle, making a detour just to avoid the route James and Sirius took.

That was in second year. It was sixth year now, and Severus was still bullied, but Remus and Lily weren't there to defend him anymore.

• • • •

Severus placed the Ashwinder eggs and mistletoe leaves in his mortar and pestled them into bright, orange powder; he sifted the mixture into a ragged pouch, sealed the top securely, and tucked it in his robes. Beside him, his cauldron bubbled and steamed, just as it had continuously for the past week. Severus checked the clock, waiting for nine o clock to strike, and when it finally did, he stirred the potion three times clockwise, then five times counterclockwise. A metallic flower blossomed in the center of the lavender liquid, and the potion took on a mercurial silver. The steam wafting in an indistinct haze suddenly straightened into pronounced columns, twisting together at the base as if forming a tornado. The potion bore the strongest resemblance to Amortentia at this point, and the only ingredient left to add was the blend of eggs and mistletoe... and of course, Severus' special touch.

The next morning at breakfast, Severus sat in his usual spot at the Slytherin table, discreetly surveying the position of each Gryffindor. At the very center of the table were the Marauders, with James and Sirius on one side, and Remus and Peter on the other; Lily sat beside Remus. Committing their location to memory, Severus turned his attention to his breakfast.

As he expected, the Marauders left the table before Lily. The minute they departed from the Hall, Severus hastily moved toward Lily's table, plopping down beside her in Remus' seat. Lily gave a yelp and recovered in a second, shooting him the death glare to which he was now accustomed. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

"What I've been wanting to do for a very long time," Severus replied, leaning suggestively forward. Lily stared at him, her green eyes limned with incredulity, before huffing in annoyance and bolting out of her seat. Severus sighed. This was a fork, obviously; if Lily ran away from him, he'd capture the other piece waiting.

On the table in front of him was Remus' empty goblet, the brazen metal slightly glazed with milk; Severus drew the pouch from his robes and sprinkled the fiery powder onto the inner sides of the cup, coating it to the point where no white or bronze shown through. He silently counted to sixty as Remus' saliva was subsumed into the powder. After a minute had elapsed, Severus took the cup, returned the mix to his pouch, and pocketed it inside his robes once more.

That night, Severus ground up a second batch of Ashwinder eggs and mistletoe. Thirty minutes prior to nine, Severus divided the potion unequally between two cauldrons, and poured the contents of his pouch to the larger portion. He took his mortar and held it up to his lips, spitting some saliva into the powder before scattering it into the other cauldron. Then he continually stirred the two concoctions, reversing his direction every ten revolutions, until finally the clock read nine.

Severus promptly jerked his styli from the potions, and the scent of Remus and Lily abruptly inundated the room. _It smells like family_, Severus thought, and a pang of sadness struck his heart.

Leaving no time to waste, Severus pulled out three glass vials, set them on the table, and placed their respective stoppers above them. He pulled out his wand and color coded the cork—he forewent the first one, changed the second one grey, and turned the third one green. He ladled the liquid from the greater cauldron into the first and second vials, while filling the third one with the other pot of potion.

Having affixed the stoppers to the glass as was appropriate, Severus stuffed the three tubes gingerly into his robes. All that remained undone in his plan was the spiking of their pumpkin juice….

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**A/N**: Thank you for reading, and I'll try to bring up the first real chapter as soon as possible! And please review, because they're the only things that keep me writing.


	2. Ingestion

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Harry Potter. I wish I did, but I don't.

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**1**

**Ingestion**

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"Wormtail, pass the fucking jam," Sirius growled.

"For fuck's sake, what's wrong with you?" Remus snapped, glowering. "You've been gloomy for the past three days."

"Oh, you're the one to talk about being gloomy."

Remus glared at him. "When have I ever been _gloomy_? You might find me boring, but I'm far from gloomy. At least I don't sulk the way you're doing now."

"Oh, save your holier-than-thou bullshit for some girl who gives a shit, Lupin."

Remus almost winced at Sirius' use of his last name. "Seriously, what the fuck is _wrong_ with you?"

"NOTHING'S WRONG WITH _ME_!" Sirius roared. "YOU'RE THE ONE WHO KEEPS MESSING MY LIFE UP!"

"Black, shut up!" Lily hissed beside Remus. "Or I'll take points off—"

"Go ahead. Take points off and see if I give a shit." Sirius threw his fork onto the table and buried his face in his hands. After a minute he slid his hands away from his eyes, and he grumbled, "Merlin, I'm thirsty. Where's the damn pumpkin juice when you need it?"

"It's right in front of you, _Black_," Remus said viciously. "Maybe if you stopped being such a thick-headed drama queen, you'd start noticing the more obvious things."

"Like what?" Sirius groused. "Like how Prongs and I are actually the least desirable blokes in the entire school because you've laid your claim on everyone's goddamn _hearts_?"

Remus spat out the piece of toast he was munching on. "_What_? Sirius, don't be stupid." The situation was so ridiculous that Remus actually laughed. "Everyone stares at you with heart-eyes all the time—"_  
_

"THEY STARE AT _YOU_, LUPIN," Sirius almost yelled. "You want to know what happened? This is what happened. See, three days ago I was snogging Sherry Hochmage in the broom closet, and when I started kissing down her neck, she gave the most delightful moan I had ever heard, except she wasn't moaning out my name; she was moaning out _yours_. Then I acted like a gentleman and gently asked her why the fuck she just did that, she told me she'd been crushing on you for five years, ever since you helped her on some Charms homework. She even had the guts to tell me that she was only using me to get to you. And you _know_ how much I wanted her.

"Then the next day, I tried kissing Natasha Beffeines to get my mind off things, but you know how those Hufflepuffs are. All demure and shy, always prioritizing the _heart_ over the twat. So naturally, she rejected me, and guess why? Because she's in fucking love with you, Lupin, and she won't go cheating on the boy of her dreams.

"And then yesterday I was brooding at the Quidditch stands while James was practicing, and Langdon Dannime—a fucking _bloke_—dared to disturb me, and for what? To ask me what your favorite food was, as if it wasn't more clear that you're in love with chocolate. I would have told him that you love chocolate more than you'll ever love him, but of course anyone who doesn't know you love chocolate doesn't deserve me telling them." Sirius seized his cup of pumpkin juice and brought it forcefully to his mouth. He frowned. "This even _tastes_ like chocolate. Lupin, are you trying to poison me?"

Remus was too busy trying to wrap his mind around what Sirius just told him to care about Sirius' pumpkin juice. Girls… and boys… liked him? He was a werewolf. A monster. His skin was riddled with scars. He was lanky. He was bookish. He was not in the least athletic. Aesthetically, he was nothing compared to James or Sirius. Yet people fancied _him_ over them?

"I swear, that was the most chocolatey pumpkin juice I've ever had in my life," Sirius told James as the latter arrived at the table. He lifted James' cup toward him. "You should try some."

James glared at him, bemused, and accepted the cup. He took a small sip as he made himself comfortable in his seat. He frowned. "This _does_ taste like chocolate."

Sirius glared at Remus and snatched away Remus' pumpkin juice. He took a gulp before Remus could do anything, and slammed the cup down immediately after. "This tastes like pumpkin. _What did you do to our drinks, Lupin_?"

"NOTHING!" Remus yelled, having finally broken out from his thoughts. "Why do you think I'm trying to poison you? It's not my fault that people actually value kindness over seduction or charm. Merlin, I can't believe I'm friends with people who deal so badly with rejection—rejection, which, by the way, they rightfully deserve—"

Then Remus flew painfully out of his seat and Sirius was kissing him, his weight crushing down on Remus' body as they lay on the floor. Sirius' lips slid slickly against Remus', his hands gripping the sides of Remus' head, maneuvering it forcibly around. Remus gasped in surprise, opening his mouth to Sirius' tongue, and it swept so far down Remus' throat that he gagged. Everyone had stopped eating and were staring at them, and Remus, finally realizing what the fuck was happening, shoved Sirius off with all his might.

Sirius yelped as his back hit the hard floor, and Remus felt indignation surge through him—Sirius would probably start complaining of how much it hurt, and why Remus did that, when it was probably nothing compared to the pain that still throbbed in Remus' own back. Above that indignation, however, was confusion, and above that, plain anger. One minute Sirius was unfairly criticizing him for things he had no control over, and the next minute Sirius was forcing himself on him—in public—for no reason at all. Remus' hands curled into fists as he pulled himself off the ground, his rage fiercely projected through his eyes, though he knew that such expression of anger was often lost upon Sirius. Sirius was getting to his feet, and Remus braced himself for that moment when Sirius would come toward him as if nothing happened at all. His fists awaited eagerly at his side, waiting to fly at last—

Then he saw Sirius' face, and the pain written on it was such that Remus' fingers suddenly uncurled. Remus couldn't tell exactly what, but there was something different about his response. He didn't know how he knew that it wasn't mock agony, but he was sure it wasn't. Something about it was so genuine, so alien and incongruous on Sirius' face….

"I'm so sorry Moony," Sirius said, his eyes wide in horror as he took in his surroundings. Everyone was still staring at him with their mouths open. "Of course you hate rashness. Merlin, I'm so sorry I humiliated you like that…."

Then he fled the Hall, leaving Remus staring after him, his mind completely blank.

• • • •

"Cut the damn bean!" Lily yelled, her red hair plastered to her face.

"I'm trying!" Remus said as the Sopophorous bean leaped all over his chopping board.

"Well, try harder! If you don't hurry, the potion will be overheated!"

Remus threw his hands up, shoving the bean and knife toward Lily. "You do it then, if you're so damn impatient."

Lily shot him a nasty glare before taking up the blade. "I can't believe I willingly partner myself up with a prat like you every class," she muttered.

"Hey!" Remus whined as he picked up Lily's stylus.

"What?" Lily asked, exasperated. "It's true. You're not very good at potions. No, in fact, you're terrible. Terrible at cutting Sopophorous beans especially."

"Yeah well, you aren't doing so well either," Remus retorted, pointing at the lump prancing around Lily's knife. "See why it took me so long?"

"Oh shut up." Lily continued to stab at the bean. After a few more attempts, she finally managed to pierce it in place, causing some of its juice to leak onto the board. Having skewered the bean at the end of her knife, she hovered it above the cauldron, wriggling around the blade and letting the Sopophorous juices drip down. Remus rolled his eyes in defeat and proceeded to stir the concoction.

After the bean ran dry, Lily thrust the knife back onto the table. "God. I swear, the only reason I'm with you is because Sev isn't here."

A jarring shock shot through Remus and the stylus clattered from his hands. He gaped at her. _Sev_?

"_REMUS FUCKING LUPIN_!" Lily screamed, attracting the whole room's attention. "You just ruined our potion!"

"Now, Miss Evans, what's the matter?" Professor Slughorn asked as he strutted toward their table.

Lily pointed a trembling finger at Remus. "He was stirring, and then he suddenly decided it would be totally acceptable to not only _stop_, but throw the stylus randomly about. And stirring, at this stage, is extremely important for the potion to achieve the color it's supposed to achieve!" Then she spoke only to Remus. "What the hell is wrong with you? You just ruined our grades! God, I am _never_ partnering up with you _ever_ again—"

"Now, now, Miss Evans," Slughorn said, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I can see that were it not for Mr. Lupin's involvement, you would have brewed the perfect potion. I can hardly fault you for something only your partner can liable for, can I? No, your grade is nowhere near risk. Neither is yours, Mr. Lupin," he turned to Remus, "since you usually perform so well in my class, and this is a difficult potion after all. I suppose I cannot give you the Outstanding I would give Miss Evans, for reasons I hope you fully understand."

Remus glowered at Lily before dipping his head. "Yes, Professor."

Once class was dismissed, Remus grabbed Lily by the arm, forcing her back. "What the fuck was that?"

"What the fuck was _that_!" Lily spat back. "Is this because of what Sirius said? Well, sorry if you didn't notice Remus, but there are a number of people out there who do like you very very much. I thought you would have known, since you're usually the perceptive one in your group… or, _did_ you know? Maybe it's not that. Maybe… it's because Sirius kissed you?"

Remus raised his head in irritation. "This has _nothing_ to do with Sirius!" he screeched, though he was unsure as to how true this was. "This has to do with you wanting to partner up with Snape! You hate him! You spent the past few months making it a point to divorce yourself from him in every way possible!"

Lily wrenched her arm away from Remus. "Well that was then. This is now."

"He called you a—"

"He didn't mean it."

Remus stared at her. "What is up with your sudden change of attitude?"

"HE DIDN'T MEAN IT, OKAY?" Lily yelled, her voice echoing through the now empty classroom. "I WAS JUST AN IDIOT WHO OVERREACTED AND RUINED EVERYTHING WITH HIM!" She looked away as though she was breaking apart. "DON'T YOU GET IT, REMUS? I LOVED HIM! I STILL DO LOVE HIM, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW TO WIN HIS FORGIVENESS FOR ALL THE SHIT I'VE PUT HIM THROUGH!" She sobbed noisily and ran out the door.

The only thing Remus could think of was '_what the fuck_?'

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**A/N**: Thank you for reading, and thank you to those of you who reviewed my prologue! Now, give me more reviews, or I will stop writing this fic. :)


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